Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Standing Alone

Liang Wan simply put down her book and walked to the window. With every spring rain, the weather grew warmer. Outside, a gentle breeze rustled through a riot of vibrant pinks and startling greens, where a flock of warblers fluttered about. In the twilight courtyard, servants bustled in and out. Their hurried expressions seemed rather out of place compared to her idle mood, quietly listening to the flowers bloom.

That day in Yulin Garden, Wang Tingyue had "accidentally" intruded upon the bath of the Fourth Lady of the Liang Mansion. Fortunately, Wang Tingyue was a responsible man; he promised on the spot to take responsibility, preventing the situation from spiraling out of control. At present, Wang Tingyue was only a lowly Seventh Division Captain. Originally, Liang Cheng and Mrs. Zhang would never have looked favorably upon someone with such dim prospects. But everyone knew that the young master of the Sikong Mansion had seen the Fourth Lady of the Liang Mansion completely naked. After this, who else would be willing to marry her? To think that the legitimate daughter of the dignified Minister of the Left would have to marry a lowly illegitimate son! Liang Cheng and Mrs. Zhang hated Liang Wan to the core for this. But no matter how reluctant they were, they had to bite the bullet and accept it. Thus, during this time, both of them were entirely preoccupied with arranging Liang Jiao’s betrothal.

CRASH. Something seemed to have shattered in the distance. Judging by the sound, it came from the neighboring courtyard.

Qiuxi brought over some hot tea. Startled by the breaking sound, she soon shook her head and sighed. "The Sikong Mansion is truly too arrogant and insolent. The Fourth Lady is a legitimate daughter, after all, yet they brush her off with endless excuses. I heard the Family Head visited their residence several days in a row, but Lord Sikong didn’t even show his face. He only sent the mansion’s stewards to deal with him. Isn’t this clearly meant to humiliate us? The Second Madam is currently scolding the Fourth Lady."

Liang Wan took the tea from Qiuxi, hiding a barely noticeable smile at the corners of her lips. She lowered her eyes. The tea in the cup was a pale green, the leaves rising and falling—it was pre-rain Longjing. She wondered if Liang Jiao had expected that the greatest resistance wouldn’t come from the Liang family, but from the Sikong Mansion.

Just then, a young maid appeared at the door, her face flushed and her breath heavy. "My lady, the Family Head requests your presence at the Fourth Lady’s courtyard."

Liang Wan lifted her eyes slightly. It was the personal maid who usually served Liang Jiao. Being allowed these few days of peace and quiet was already quite good.

Following behind Liang Wan, Qiuxi secretly stared at her unhurried figure. She wondered why her lady seemed so different from before, carrying a newfound air of composure and cold austerity.

Liang Jiao’s courtyard was usually a fragrant display of spring foliage. Though the spring atmosphere was currently in full swing, the maids and servant women standing guard outside were all silent with sullen faces, making the place feel utterly lifeless. A maid lifted the curtain at the door. Liang Wan stepped inside with a neutral expression. It was brighter and much more luxurious than her own quarters—a place fit for a true noble lady.

In the inner room, Liang Jiao lay on her stomach on the bed, sobbing uncontrollably. Mrs. Zhang stood nearby with glaring eyes, while Liang Cheng sat on a woven daybed to the side, his face terrifyingly dark. Ever since her mother had fainted that night and woken up, she had declared she was severing their mother-daughter relationship. Were it not for that, she inevitably would have been here today as well. Liang Wan’s lips curled up slightly. Perhaps this wasn’t such a bad thing.

Hearing footsteps, Liang Cheng glanced over, while Mrs. Zhang rolled her eyes in annoyance. Liang Wan observed this calmly, showing no emotion on her face, but she adopted an expression of utmost obedience. "Uncle, Aunt, for what matter have you summoned me?"

At the sound of Liang Wan’s voice, Liang Jiao’s sobbing noticeably paused for a moment before resuming.

As soon as those words were spoken, Mrs. Zhang could no longer contain her fury. She jumped up and scolded her directly. "I don’t care about the whole story of what happened at Yunyan Hall, but you can’t absolve yourself of this! If Ajiao’s marriage isn’t resolved properly, even having Lu Xiu as your backer will be useless! We wanted to treat you well in the past, but you’re clearly an ungrateful wretch who bites the hand that feeds!"

The glare she shot over was sinister and venomous, looking as though she wished she could rush over right away and slice Liang Wan into a thousand pieces.

Liang Cheng let out a low shout in a deep voice, "Enough, just get to the important part!"

Liang Wan glanced at his fierce and harsh demeanor, easily able to tell that he had indeed suffered quite a bit of humiliation at the Sikong Mansion these past few days.

Reprimanded by Liang Cheng, Mrs. Zhang had no choice but to shut her mouth. She snapped at Liang Wan, "Three days from now is Wang Su’s fiftieth birthday. You only need to go there once, and the Family Head won’t have to constantly have the door slammed in his face!"

Liang Wan looked at her coldly. "Go once? To do what?"

"You’ll do whatever you are told!"

Liang Cheng stood up abruptly, his eyes practically spitting fire. Pointing right at her nose, he cursed, "If you hadn’t offended him, would I have to face rejection every single day? Right now, who in the entirety of Jinye City isn’t treating me as a laughingstock? Let me tell you, however you offended him, you’d better coax him back into a good mood in three days! Otherwise, I’ll make sure you die in the Liang family!"

Liang Cheng was like a barrel of gunpowder that had suddenly detonated, blasting the entire room into dead silence. Even the intermittent sobbing came to a halt.

Liang Wan stood there in a daze. After a long while, she suddenly smiled. "Alright."

With that, she turned and walked out.

Terrified by the roaring, Qiuxi’s face had turned deathly pale, and she was unable to recover her senses for a long while. Seeing Liang Wan leaving, she hastily bowed and chased after her. Upon leaving the courtyard, Qiuxi trailed after her at a light jog, panting. "My lady, how could you agree? Before, they at least said they were sending you to be a concubine, but now it’s completely without title or status—"

"With rumors of my illicit affair with Lu Xiu spreading so convincingly, how could Wang Su possibly still let me be his concubine? Liang Cheng sending me over like this is merely to let Wang Su vent his anger and satisfy his hatred!" she sneered internally.

Qiuxi was sweating profusely from anxiety. "My lady, you absolutely must not go! Never mind that it’ll be impossible to marry a good man afterward. Even if you do go, who knows how he will torture you? Will you even come back alive?"

Wang Su’s fondness for young girls was known to all. Anyone who needed a favor from him would cater to his tastes, secretly gathering girls from the common folk to send to his mansion. But Wang Su was no longer in his prime. Whenever he found his spirit willing but his flesh weak and couldn’t fully enjoy himself, he would resort to all sorts of violent abuse and torture, even killing them, to seek satisfaction.

Liang Wan nodded. Indeed, she might not return alive. How could she not know how inhumane, twisted, and terrifying Wang Su’s methods were? In her previous life, he had dared to be that unbridled even in the Imperial Palace, let alone now when she was being delivered right to his home? At the thought of her past experiences, Liang Wan shivered with a bone-deep chill.

Qiuxi hurriedly rubbed her back. "My lady, let’s go ask the Grand Commandant for help! He definitely won’t just ignore you!"

Liang Wan slowly crouched down and shook her head.

"Why not?"

Qiuxi didn’t know that Lu Xiu wouldn’t help her.

Liang Wan’s lips twitched as she spoke in a cold, clear voice. "Have you ever watched a cricket fight?"

Qiuxi stared with wide, bewildered eyes, not understanding what this had to do with their current situation.

What Lu Xiu wanted was a cricket brimming with combat prowess, not a useless piece of trash so weak it would fall at the first blow, constantly seeking help! Not a single word he had ever spoken to her was empty air. Back then, if she hadn’t killed Zhang Shi so decisively, and had merely tried to run away, Lu Xiu wouldn’t have saved her. It was just like in her past life when she was dragged into a corner, crying and reaching out to him for help, only for him to smile and turn a blind eye.

Thinking back to the banquets in the Imperial Palace of the past, whenever someone wailed in despair and begged bitterly, his originally aloof expression would shift slightly. It was out of sheer annoyance. He saved her because he found it amusing that she killed Zhang Shi, and he would also kill her out of boredom if all she did was cry for help when bullied by Wang Su. Therefore, if she truly acted like she did that day in Yulin Garden—allowing others to mold and crush her like dough—she really wouldn’t be far from death.

The tyrant enjoyed watching people struggle, while Lu Xiu enjoyed watching them turn the tables. That was exactly how he eventually became the tyrant’s confidant and the youngest Master Lu among the Upper Three Ministers of Daqi!

Liang Wan forced herself to stand up. "Three days is not a lot of time. Let’s go back and prepare."

Qiuxi tried to support her, but Liang Wan brushed her hands away. No one could stay by someone’s side forever. To walk this path to the very end, the only person she could truly rely on was herself!

Besides, if she couldn’t even face Wang Su because of fear, how would she ever dare to assassinate the emperor in the future?

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